Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Engagement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Friends group updates and cemetery concern: board to revisit Marsh Cemetery and museum-accreditation work
Summary
Board members reported Friends volunteers are auditing membership lists and fundraising activity; members said steps toward museum accreditation stalled and recommended prioritizing restoration of historic houses. Marsh Cemetery, privately owned, will be placed on the next agenda to explore voluntary upkeep options.
Board members received updates from the Friends group about membership and fundraising work and discussed the status of earlier efforts toward museum accreditation.
Friends volunteers are updating membership and life-member lists (staff and volunteers said many contacts and emails are outdated) and plan a meeting in June to coordinate fundraising and outreach. Board members described the accreditation or 'steps' effort as having stalled amid differing priorities and recommended focusing energy on restoring the historic log cabins and houses that are central to any future museum recognition.
A member asked that Marsh Cemetery be added to the next meeting agenda to review condition and possible actions. Staff noted the cemetery is privately owned and that, if ownership transferred after the owner’s death, the property could eventually come under state control and then be turned over to Farmers Branch — a process outside the board’s immediate authority. Members discussed interim, voluntary responses such as organizing volunteer cleanups or Eagle Scout projects to maintain the site until any legal ownership change occurs.
The board asked staff to add Marsh Cemetery to a future agenda and to provide any dates or property-history details needed to pursue voluntary upkeep options or to engage the city if ownership changes.
